


Waves

by hello_chu (ho_dioda)



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Cheesy, Confessions, F/F, Fluff, Soft Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yeorry, beach, night outs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24346204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ho_dioda/pseuds/hello_chu
Summary: Yerim is like the sun.Too ethereal to be real.At least, that's what Yeojin feels most of the time.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 145





	Waves

**Author's Note:**

> it's almost 10AM and i haven't slept yet because i can't stop thinking about yeorry and their beach strolls.

_Yerim is like the sun._

The thought crosses through Yeojin’s mind for a split-second as she watches how Yerim is humming happily to a melody she probably made up in her head. It’s evening, and Yeojin is sure that she’s never even heard of the tune before, and yet something about the melody seems so familiar to her.

Maybe it’s Yerim’s voice that gives her a sense of familiarity.

_Yerim._

_Right._

Yeojin sometimes forgets that Yerim’s beside her. She thinks about the older girl so often that a part of her is convinced that Yerim is just a figment of her imagination. Too ethereal to be real. Someone conjured by her brain to make her feel less lonely in a world that’s way too big for her to be in.

At least, that’s what Yeojin feels most of the time.

Because for her, the only times she can confirm Yerim’s existence is when their hands brush against each other ever so slightly, or when Yerim holds her close when they’re out on the beach at night while they watch the waves crash against the shore, or when she feels Yerim’s fingers trace little drawings of fairy tales against Yeojin’s arm like she was imprinting an entirely different universe onto Yeojin’s skin.

One of those moments is now, Yeojin observes. She’s sitting on the cold sand with her shoulder touching Yerim’s bicep, and the occasional waves of water and seaweed grasping her toes are the only ones keeping her grounded to the moment. Making sure she knows she’s not imagining it.

Yerim’s chest vibrates with each note she hums, and Yeojin’s smile grows fonder each time she feels it against her arm. She feels every song Yerim sings to her, and her chest grows warmer by the second.

Yerim catches her staring, and she pauses the song for a while. “You’re staring…” She mutters, and Yeojin hasn’t even realized it until Yerim speaks up.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Yerim grins, and she nudges Yeojin with her arm weakly. “I don’t mind it at all.”

Yeojin blinks slowly before she nods. “Can I stare at you for a little longer then…?”

Yerim stares back at her, and the giggles that escaped her lips made Yeojin’s face feel warm. “Sure.”

Yerim turns her head forward to stare at the sea once more, and she continues humming to that song that was playing a few moments ago. Yeojin makes the most of her time staring at Yerim.

She traces Yerim’s face with her eyes, burning the memory in her mind over and over again—forcing herself to remember it. She knows how the brain distorts memories over time, but this is something she wants to never forget.

She outlines Yerim’s face again and again. She keeps her eyes steady, relaxed, as she observes the look of content Yerim had for herself.

Yeojin’s heart feels like it would burst.

She smiled to herself and leaned forward, pressing her ear against Yerim’s chest and holding onto the sleeve of Yerim’s sweater softly. Startled, Yerim stopped humming.

“Don’t stop.” Yeojin murmurs against the fabric of Yerim’s cotton sweater, and Yerim hums again. 

The song sounds louder now, Yeojin thinks, and it sounds better with the way Yerim’s steady pulse is accompanying the soft melody. Yeojin presses harder against Yerim’s chest.

Yerim pulls her closer almost immediately, her hand behind Yeojin’s head to keep the smaller girl from moving too much.

“What’s up with you today?” Yerim whispers, and she feels the way Yeojin shrugs in her hold.

“I think I just missed you.”

“You see me every day.” Yerim bites back the smile growing on her lips. Yeojin does the same.

“I know. It’s not enough.”

And then they both stay silent. Yeojin can vaguely hear the crashing of the waves and the chirping of the crickets because the beating of Yerim’s heart was louder than the rest of the world’s music.

Yerim’s heart is different compared to Yerim in real life. Yerim is bright, energetic, and loud. She’s upbeat and spontaneous, and staying with her keeps Yeojin standing on her feet. Her heart, on the other hand, was peaceful, steady, and soft. A complete contrast to her personality.

Yeojin finds it endearing. She finds everything about Yerim endearing.

“Hey…” Yeojin searches for the right words to say from the back of her mind, and when she couldn’t find anything, she dives deep into a chest locked in the bottom of her heart and unlocks it carefully, hoping none of the more intense feelings pour over her lips. Yeojin bites her tongue and anticipates any reaction from Yerim.

“Yeah?” Yerim’s voice was as soft as her pulse. Yeojin smiles.

“I like you.”

The silence falls upon the two of them again, and this time, it amplified the sounds of the waves and the crickets and the beating of Yerim’s heart. Louder, it screamed. But Yeojin is wondering if maybe the heartbeat she hears is her own.

She gulps, and she regrets and thinks whether it was the right decision to tell Yerim about her growing feelings for her.

Yerim stays silent.

“DId you hear me?” Yeojin whispers after a few more seconds.

Yerim hums the same tune again, and although Yeojin would have loved it in another moment, the song only fueled her nervousness and anticipation for Yerim’s next words.

“Yerim. I like you.” She repeats. _Maybe Yerim didn’t hear me the first time._

“I heard you.” Yerim mutters. Her eyes stare far into the night. 

Yeojin’s eyes were staring at the shape of Yerim’s jaw and cheekbone. Yeojin was so close that she could feel her nose press against the hook of Yerim’s neck.

“I like you a lot.” Yeojin repeats. She’s not sure why, but she feels the need to say it repeatedly until Yerim gets it through her head. “I like you so much.”

“I know.” Yerim murmurs.

“You don’t.”

“I do.”

And they’re both silent once more. The water reaches Yeojin’s toes. She tightens her grip on Yerim’s sweater.

“Do you like me too?” She croaks out, absolutely terrified of the answer to her question. Yerim opens her mouth to speak, but Yeojin cuts her off. “Wait, don’t answer it.” 

Yerim looks down to meet Yeojin’s fearful eyes. “Okay.” She tightens her hold around Yeojin ever so slightly.

“Just…” Yeojin closes her eyes. “Pull me closer…”

“Okay.”

Yeojin shifts along with Yerim, her weight being fully supported by the older girl. Yerim wraps both her arms around the smaller girl. She feels Yeojin hug her back too.

“You don’t have to say anything, Yerim.” Yeojin mutters under her breath. “But if you don’t plan on saying a word about it tonight, you better promise me you won’t forget this happened tomorrow.”

Yeojin’s gaze was steady. She stared into Yerim’s conflicted ones.

Their noses were bumping each other with how close they were and Yerim shivers into the wind. She unconsciously cuddles into Yeojin closer to her. 

Yeojin just lets her do whatever she wants.

But she does not deny the loud thumping of her heart against her ribcage, and she keeps her lips tight. She fears the more terrifying words lying somewhere beneath her tongue, and she hopes she wouldn’t say anything reckless and jeopardize her relationship with Yerim further.

‘Yeojin,” Yerim speaks slowly, and Yeojin catches herself gulping before she hums a response. “Since when have you been feeling this way?”

They blink at each other, letting the surrounding sounds fill the air for a while. It’s a breathtaking sight, Yeojin thinks, and she’s staring at Yerim who’s staring back at her. _She’s so breathtaking._ Yeojin wonders if she’s still awake. Her thoughts linger on the way Yerim’s arms were holding her.

Then she feels the water tickle her toes once more, and she realizes that every word she’s said has already been said, in reality. The real Yerim was in her arms, and she wasn’t imagining things. She really mustered up the courage to say words she never thought she could breathe into existence. Yerim heard everything she said.

_Yerim knows I like her._

“I’ve liked you for a while.” Yeojin finally speaks up, and Yerim’s lip twitches upwards ever so slightly. She hums to the tune Yeojin has grown accustomed to in the past hour.

“How long?” Yerim pries. “How long exactly have you liked me?”

“Two years.” Yeojin mutters. Yerim feels Yeojin’s breath tickle her chin. “I realized I liked you a year after we became friends.”

“I’m surprised you can remember the specifics,” Yerim tilts her head back to laugh a bit, and that’s when she realizes how there was almost no space between them. She resumes her position almost immediately, however. She didn’t want to be too far from Yeojin.

“Well, you told me I should remember things more often.” Yeojin jokes. “I started keeping a journal since you said so.”

“You keep a journal because I said so?” Yerim asks, and she sees Yeojin nod before her. “What else would you do for me, if I say so?”

“Anything.” Yeojin didn’t waste a heartbeat. “I could die for you if you tell me to.”

“Don’t do that,” Yerim scolds. “Don’t make jokes about that.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Live for me, Yeojin.”

Silence. Yeojin is not sure whether she likes the silence more than Yerim’s voice or the other way around. 

“Okay. I’ll do that.” The water moves against their toes for a second, as if it were teasing them, urging them to do what they want before they regret it. Yeojin speaks up once more. “What else do you want me to do?”

Yerim furrows her eyebrows. Yeojin’s voice didn’t falter, nor did it shake. Yerim didn’t think she’d be this serious. 

She contemplates. _Do I have feelings for Yeojin?_ She thinks to herself. She’s not sure what the younger girl sees in her. She’s loud and talkative and--

“Stop thinking.” Yeojin cuts her train of thought as if the younger girl could read what Yerim was saying in her mind. “Your thoughts are too loud.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize too.” Yeojin leans back. She presses her fingers nimbly against Yerim’s cheeks, cupping the older girl’s face in her hands. “You think I can hold the world in my hands?”

Yerim snorts. “No.”

“Wrong. I’ve got it right here.” Yeojin teases, and she feels Yerim’s face heat up. It was a contrast to the cool of the night. Yeojin takes it as a success.

“Me?”

“You.” Yeojin’s voice was firm. “You’re my entire world.”

“Stop messing with me,” Yerim whines. She places her hands on top of Yeojin’s wrists and runs her thumbs over the back of Yeojin’s hand. “It’s not nice.”

“I’m not messing with you.” Yeojin holds Yerim’s hands. Yerim’s hands were chilly. Yeojin figures it’s because she’s so warm-hearted. “I like you.”

“You’re lying.” 

“I’m not.” Yeojin watches the way Yerim‘s bottom lip juts out in a pout.

“You are.” Yerim huffs. “Because you don’t like me.”

“Who are you to dictate my feelings for me?” Yeojin scrunches her nose. “If I don’t like you, then what is it that I feel for you?”

“You love me.” Yerim gulps almost immediately after her lips betrayed her. She didn’t mean to say it outright.

Yeojin freezes. She stays completely still, and she thinks her breath is caught somewhere behind her throat.

Yerim begs herself to stop talking. She begs her heart to stop stumbling over her words.

“Don’t you?” Her lips move before she could think properly. “Yeojin… you…” Yerim watches the pink that paints across the canvas that is Yeojin’s cheeks. “You love me, don’t you?”

Yeojin is beginning to feel more comfortable in the silence more than when Yerim speaks.

_Yerim is dangerous for my heart._

Yeojin wishes she could stay silent forever. But Yerim looks at her so tenderly, and Yeojin’s sure her tongue would betray her mind once more. She ponders for a while, asking herself whether it would be right to admit to Yerim's speculation.

“I guess so,” She replies instead. “I love you, Yerim.”

The smile that plays around Yerim’s lips after Yeojin’s confession differed from her other, usual smiles. It wasn’t the enormous grin that outshines the sun, nor is it the tight-lipped awkward smile Yerim gives strangers who overstep their boundaries.

This smile is soft and coy. Almost as if Yerim’s urging Yeojin to say more.

“I’m so in love with you.” Yeojin continues, egged on by the smile Yerim had on her face. “I’m in love with every little thing you do,” she squeezes Yerim’s hands in hers. “I’m in love with your voice.”

Yerim’s eyes glint.

_Yerim is like the sun._

“I’m in love with your heart.” Yeojin is not sure if she’s making any sense anymore. But then again, it’s almost four in the morning, and the love of her life is staring at her wordlessly with the stars in her eyes. “I’m in love with your eyes.”

“And?” Yerim teases.

Yeojin grins at the single word Yerim utters. “I can list off everything I love about you and match it with a star in the sky, but I’d run out of stars soon.”

“Cheesy.” Yerim rolls her eyes, and she barely catches the way Yeojin pokes her tongue out teasingly. They share giggles before quieting down again. “What else?”

“Tomorrow may never come if I keep speaking.” Yeojin muses.

“It’s already ‘tomorrow’.”

“It’s not.” Yeojin rests her arms on Yerim’s shoulders. “It won’t be tomorrow if you stay in this moment with me.”

“Since when did you get this greasy?” Yerim rests her hands at the hem of Yeojin’s shirt. By now, Yeojin was facing her fully, her legs wrapping Yerim’s body in between.

“Since I found out that I’m in love with you.” Yeojin presses her forehead against Yerim’s collarbone. She observes the way Yerim’s smile grows warmer with every second that passed. “And you should stop hiding your secrets from me too, you know?”

“What kind of secrets?” Yerim asks, genuinely confused. She stares at their soaked feet. Something about the water around their toes was therapeutic.

“You’re in love with me too, aren’t you?” Yeojin’s voice was sounding raspy from how long they’ve been speaking.

A laugh bubbles from Yerim’s chest, and she feels Yeojin pout.

“Don’t laugh.” Yeojin whines. “I’m being serious here.”

“I know,” Yerim giggles. “I’m in love with you too.”

“Why didn’t you say it sooner, dumbass?” Yeojin sighs in relief, and she closes the nonexistent gap between them by hugging Yerim closer.

“I didn’t want to be the only one in love.” Yerim clarifies. “You said you only liked me earlier, in case you forgot.”

“Meanie.” Yeojin’s voice is muffled against the cotton of Yerim’s sweater. She closes her eyes in content.

“I’m not.” Yerim bites back. The two sit in silence, arms wrapped around each other as the sun peeks out from the horizon. The crickets cease their chirping, and soon the birds replace them, singing sweet melodies to each other. The waves crash on the shore over and over again, and the moon bids her farewell.

Yerim is like the sun. Yerim is a fairy tale. Yerim’s voice feels like home. Yerim.

“I love you.” Yerim says it softly on the crown of Yeojin’s head.

“I love you too.”

Yerim is the beach. Yerim is the sky. Yerim is the world. Yerim is her home. 

And Yeojin never wants to leave.


End file.
